Comparative Religion: Hinduism and Aborigine Religion
Hinduism
Since the beginning of civilization many religions and cultures have come and gone. One of the few that has stood the test of time is Hinduism. Hinduisms base flourishes from the practical view of human life, belief in eternal truth and it’s ability to make small adaptations to it without compromising its core values. Hinduism is the oldest known religion in the world and also the third largest in the world. Most of its one billion followers live in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Even with its immense amount of followers and lengthy existence, many non followers are unaware of its history, beliefs, and practices.
The beginning of Hinduism can be traced back to 5000-10,000 B.C and
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Hinduism believes in the reincarnation or rebirth of souls. They believe that souls are eternal and divine and that death is only temporary.
Aboriginals believe that spirits move into the spirit realm after death; they do not believe in reincarnation or rebirth. They believe that their ancestors become “dreaming beings” that have power over the universe.
Aborigine beliefs are polytheistic. They believe that multiple gods and “dreaming beings” created the universe and determine the out come of life. They believe that the best was to contact the divine is through dreaming. This is why dreaming is such an important aspect of Aborigine culture.
Hinduism is based in Henotheistic. They believe in one god Brahmin that manifests himself in many different Gods and Goddesses. They worship their Gods and Goddess in the form of idols and also utilize large ornate temples.
Aboriginal region incubates many rituals and rites within their practices. Males and females both go through coming of age rites. Rituals are practical in large community setting to promote intensity. Rituals and rites such as circumcision, seclusion, and ornate decorative dressing are common. In Hinduism one of the most well known rituals was sacrifice. This was mostly practiced during the Vedic period. Nowadays death gives the most intricate rituals because of the unique view on the
Traditional Aboriginal religious and spiritual beliefs (known as ‘The Dreaming’) are based on a kinship with nature and the land and the influence of ancestral spiritual beings.
Aboriginal people believe that the dreaming stories give meaning to life. It is through their dreamings that Aboriginal people experience wholeness and the holiness of all aspects of life. Aboriginals are born into the dreaming and learn through initiation rituals what life means to them. The dreamtime is about the stories of their past and how everything in their lives has been tied together. Traditional aboriginals believe that the sky always existed and the earth was the home of their mythical ancestors; they believe the earth was covered in eternal darkness because the sun and moon were sleeping underneath the earth’s crust with the mythical ancestors. They believe time began when their mythical ancestors awoke
The Aboriginal people do not view the country as a land filled with rocks, soil or minerals, but rather a nature that endures the needs for living things. The Aboriginals are closely connected to the land as it is the central of all spirituality. Any issues that the land encounters, the Indigenous people find important as they cherish and perceive the land as their mother; a nurturer. An important aspect of the Aboriginal spirituality is to protect the land as they are a part of it because the land sustains them with food, water and a place to share their culture.
Hinduism is a major religion in India that is practiced by almost everyone. This is where they believe in one supreme being that has many different aspects. People who don’t understand Hinduism commonly mistake it with Buddhism due to the fact they share similar beliefs. Hinduism has the most affect on the culture and artwork because it is commonly practiced in India. In Hinduism there are three main gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Since these pieces of art stem from India, its important to understand the religions that they practiced. Hinduism is the oldest religion on earth, originating from the Indus valley civilization. Hinduism is based off of the Vedas that acts as a guideline for the way Hindu’s should live. Hindu’s do not only see Hinduism as a religion, but a way of life. They use five elements to shape their religious tradition. Doctrine, practice, society, story, and devotion. People who practice Hinduism follow their way of life strictly, and usually refuse to
Hinduism is the name given to a family of religions and cultures that began and still flourish in India. The word “Hindu,” comes from the name of the river Indus, which flows from Tibet through Kashmir and Pakistan to the sea. It originally referred to the people living in that particular region of the world, regardless of their faith. Hinduism has no original founder and is one of the world’s largest religions following Christianity and Islam, with approximately a billion adherents. Hinduism is henotheistic, which is the devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of other gods. Their god is present in everything, and they believe that their soul repeatedly goes through a cycle of being born into a body, dying, and then becoming reborn into another body, whether it is human, animal or spirit. Hindu’s also strongly believe in karma, which is a force that determines the quality of each life, depending on how well one behaved in a past life. Hindu’s do not separate religion from other aspects of their life. Hinduism in India dictates Hindu’s lives in that it involves a caste system which controls their position in society, assists them in earning a living, helps manage how they raise their a family and controls their diets. Hindu’s believe that freedom or liberation is the true goal in life. True freedom is the freedom from all external conditioning influences, whether of body or mind. This is the freedom of Self-realization,
It has no unifying faith or belief, no founder, no religious structure, and no concept of sin. (“Primary Resources”). Hindus follow many gods like Brahma, the Creator, who varies in different forms such as Vishnu the Preserver, Shiva, the Destroyer, Ganapati, the Remover of Obstacles, Rama and Krishna, the avatars of Vishnu, Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning, Lakshmi, the Goddess of Fortune, Durga Devi, the Goddess of Moral Order, Indra, the King of Heaven, Surya, the Sun God, Agni, the Fire God, and Hanuman, the Monkey King of Strength. (“Hinduism”). Although Hindus know the importance of following all gods, they primarily follow a single God or goddess. Shiva, Vishnu, and the goddess are the most popular among Hindus. When families worship these gods, the rituals normally go along with the images and sculptures in the home. Hinduism has continued to expand and it’s people have become more diverse throughout history. With so many followers, Hindus can choose what gods to worship. Hindus don’t have to persuade others to follow his God, or beliefs (Primary
Another thing the Hindu people believe in that is there is just no one god. They believe in many gods, so many that if you would want to worship one everyday of your life till the day you die you would still not be able to worship them all. They believe that this man named Brahma is the creator. They also believe that Saraswati is his wife and she is the goddess
Hinduism is a really old religion that grew in India. “Hinduism is a religion or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. With approximately one billion followers, Hinduism is the world's third largest religion by population, and the majority religion in India, Nepal, and Bali Indonesia”. Hindus believe that if they followed the laws of their caste that after death in reincarnation they would be born into a better
Hinduism is a religion that dates back about 6000 years and is one of the world's oldest religion. This religion is unlike any other and actually shaped many religions that are still followed today. An example of a widely followed religion influenced by Hinduism is Buddhism. Originating in the Indus River Valley Hinduism is now spread all over the world. Geography played and still plays a huge role in Hinduism. From the Aryans using a mountain pass to take over the original land of Hinduism to the spread of Hinduism today.
The beliefs and practices previously mentioned, along with others, can all be related to the right relationships that indigenous lifeways are so concerned with. That is because their lifeway implicates that “everything in the cosmos is intimately interrelated” (Fisher, 2014, p. 38). All of their belief and practices go back to their lifeways that right relationships must occur with all things of the world. Rituals, symbols, and myths are then utilized ining worship the wide-range of all existing
Hinduism originated in India and is the main religion of the country. Hinduism deals with a variety of religious traditions and philosophies that have developed over many years. Most Hindus worship one or more gods and value the practice of meditation. Hindus believe in reincarnation and that the process of creation is based on cycles. This means when you die you are starting a new beginning as another form of creation. There are many texts that the Hindu religion deals which includes the Vedas and the Upanishads. The Vedas are a group of four texts that deal with worship during the Vedic Period between 2000 to 500 BCE. The Upanishads are group of one- hundred works that give insights into internal and external reality. Some of the most important
Hinduism is a religion and a way of life. It found mostly in India and Nepal. With approximately one billion followers. Hinduism is the 3rd largest religion in the world, after Christianity and Islam. Most of Hindus (about 90%) live in India. The Rig Veda was written more than 3800 years ago which makes Hinduism one of, if not the oldest religion in the world. The Rig Veda is the oldest of Hindu texts. They are the earliest books of Indo-Aryan civilization and the most sacred books of India.
Similar to many religions practiced around the world, Hinduism portrays a great amount of belief in worshipping gods that they believe play a special role in their history. Though when speaking of Hinduism, I should mention that it does not consist of a single, dominant religion. It is a broad term for the masses of religious denominations created over the past years throughout the southern region of Asia that have been practiced continuously by followers. Hinduism, unlike Buddhism, expresses the afterlife as an indefinite cycle included in life, where an individual is reincarnated numerous times through the course of various lifetimes.
Hinduism is the religion of the majority of population in India and Nepal. It is prevalent among other populations outside of this area and has over 900 million followers worldwide (BBC). Unlike other religions, Hinduism has no single founder, no single scripture, and no commonly agreed set of teachings. Hinduism is not easily defined because of its many different practices and different beliefs within it. It can be compared conceptually and historically with the other Indian religions such as Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism (BBC). Throughout its history, many of the key figures within the religion have taught different philosophies and wrote a numerous amount of holy books. Because of these reasons, writers often refer to Hinduism as 'a
While researching Hinduism beliefs and practices, I found that Hinduism is one of the oldest and most widely practices religions in South Asia. It is also the third largest religion in the world with 16 percent of the world’s population. Hinduism is also known as a polytheistic religion because they believe in more than one god. There are many gods and goddesses in Hinduism, but the main and the highest gods are Lord Brahma, the creator; Lord Vishnu, the protector; and lord Shiva, the destroyer. Hinduism is a religion’s with a variety of beliefs and practices. The four major beliefs of Hinduism are the caste system, multiple Gods, karma, and reincarnation.